Decisions and Distractions
by Angelgear
Summary: Richie's POV. Something is coming between Richie and Virgil, and now Richie has to come to terms with things he didn't realize about himself...
1. Just Thinking in English

Well, here goes the beginning of my really long Static Shock FanFic. Expect some more continuations of this in the future, and I will desperately try to update as soon as I can, if I get good writing days ^ - ^!

Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or any of the related characters except original characters in this story. WB, DC comics and Milestone Comics (and whoever else) own them. I 'm not making any profit off of this, ok!? lol ^ - ~

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Chapter 1: "Just Thinking In English"   
  


Okay, this was a total snore fest.   


English had to be the most _boring_ class ever… or at least Mr. Rhodes' English class was, the guy lectured on for what seemed like hours. I sat with my arms crossed and leaned back, carefully analyzing his interpretation of Romeo and Juliet.   


I looked at him from over the rims of my glasses as he explicated further on the tragedy, completely bored with him and this entire discussion. If you could call his reading lines from the play and expounding upon their lost meanings and having to define the ancient terms of Shakespeare's English a discussion.   


I honestly didn't find Romeo and Juliet to be all that interesting. What's so romantic about a sex-craved, hormone-raged, whiny brat trying to get with a naïve, under-aged girl? It seemed less about a story of love than a story about two people who died for a love nobody wanted them to have.   


I didn't get why Juliet or the girls in our class swooned for such idiotic notions of romance. Even worse was when they fell for the completely wrong guy, like Romeo. That ticked me off to no end. He was just an impulsive, indecisive _brat_… I didn't see their sacrifices as a tragic love story, but more like the consequences of bad decisions. Yep, this class was Snooze Ville.   


I kept my incredulous gaze on Mr. Rhodes as he paced up and down the rows of desks, seemingly unaware of the abundance of sleeping students.   


As soon as he passed my desk, I nudged Virgil's arm, who was sitting to my right. He looked up from his hunched over position on his desk. I leaned back in my chair, threw my head back, and pretended to snore; then cracked open an eye and smiled at him. He covered his mouth and stifled a chuckle. Sighing, he laid his head back on his desk.   


Poor Virge, those recent late night patrols were taking their toll.   


Watching Virgil trying to sleep, I felt strangely relieved that he was at least getting some rest, even if it was in the middle of class. He had worked so hard almost every night this week. I told him to get more rest.   


I was tired myself, after assisting on patrols, but I always turned in earlier than he did. He would always want to keep going. Dedicated, that one was; I've always admired Virgil's determination. Sometimes it made him stubborn and bone-headed, but he at least always tried to do what was right, and he always had good intentions.   


Yeah, he was like that.   


He really had that power over people; I couldn't help but be his loyal sidekick. He had always looked out for me, and I tried hard to do the same. I truly felt like sometimes he really depended on me, _especially_ when he was being his usual reckless self and I had to bail him out.   


And cue teacher. Just then, Mr. Rhodes interrupted my thoughts with his annoying, nasal voice. "Richard?"   


"Huh?" I quickly spun around. Somehow, the snake had managed to sneak up behind me.   


"Mr. Foley…I need a couple volunteers to perform this scene. If you were listening you would have heard."   


"Uh…but I didn't volunteer."   


"I'm aware of that. Now go to the front of the class with your book. Daisy Watkins will be your partner."   


Geez, thanks teach.   


Daisy, who had been sitting in front of Virgil suddenly perked up, just as surprised as I was. Without question, she grabbed her book and went to the front of the classroom.   


I grabbed my own book and got up, but before I could leave my seat, Virgil's voice unexpectedly spoke up.   


"Mr. Rhodes, I'll volunteer."   


I look at Virgil, somewhat amazed…I thought he was dead asleep! He looked back at me, smiled, and winked. I then quickly sat back down, quite satisfied. Talk about bailing people out, it was second nature to him!   


Mr. Rhodes looked at Virgil. He didn't seem to like the sudden burst of enthusiasm, but he yielded.   


"Alright, Mr. Hawkins, since _you're _so willing. Proceed."   


Virgil took his book and approached the front. Daisy seemed all the happier at having a new partner. Oh, now I get it. You're _so_ noble, V…   
  


They stood and gazed at each other. "Act II, Scene 2. Capulet's Orchard. Romeo, begin," Mr. Rhodes said, replacing spectacles on his face.   


Virgil smiled at Daisy and then looked at the pages in his book. He seemed to mouth something inaudible, before looking up and taking his most dramatic kneeling pose.   


"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she…"   


Bla bla bla. Virgil spat out the lines in his cheesy Shakespearian actor voice, complete with an English accent, what a showman! Moreover, the crowd just ate it up, _especially _Daisy. You could have _sworn_ she believed he was actually _telling her_ these things. I wondered if she could even understand what he was _saying_.   


Virgil finished the long set of lines. Daisy stared at him for a moment, completely enthralled by the magic words, before realizing it was her turn to speak. Nervously she glanced down. "Um…ay…me!"   


Virgil gasped. "She speaks!" he addressed the class… they chuckled mildly. Okay, so they laughed pretty damn hard. Daisy giggled to herself. Even Mr. Rhodes laughed a little. It wasn't even _that_ funny, I guess I was just used to V's "witty" sense of humor by now.   


"Oh, speak again, bright angel!" he continued, "Being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven…"   


On and _on_ with the endless love drabble… Honestly, _this_ had to be the most comical thing to witness! _Virgil_, standing up there reciting Shakespeare to Daisy in front of everyone… it was classic. Outwardly, I smiled wryly.   


However, even though the lines were just that—empty words being read aloud—there was something nagging me the whole time. Like something was bothering me in the back of my mind about this performance.   


Daisy looked as though the words he was saying were true and romantic. Somehow, I felt there was something…_wrong_ with that.   


"O Romeo, Romeo!" Daisy said in her softest Juliet voice, "wherefore art thou Romeo?" She turned her gaze away from "Romeo" for a few moments to gaze off into oblivion. "Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet…tis' but thy name that is thy enemy!"   


It was like watching a truly bad high school production—which I guess it was— and it went _on and on_… man, that dialogue almost put me to sleep! How anyone could ever fall for any of the self-indulgent lines these two "lovers" were spitting out was beyond me.   


As expected, though, there _must _have been some secret language spoken here, because by the end, Daisy was beaming. I thought it'd never stop when they finally finished, turned, and bowed to the class. We all applauded as Daisy and Virgil returned to their seats.   


I nudged him in the shoulder with my elbow as he sat down. "Yo V, thanks man."   


"Nah, don't mention it." Our fists met, lightly tapping one on top of the other, then on the knuckles.   


Mr. Rhodes went to the front of the classroom with the opened textbook still in his hand. He pushed his specs onto the bridge of his nose and addressed everyone, "Alright, splendid performance Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Watkins," he said, listless as ever, "now be sure to read the subsequent scenes for next week's consideration..."   


Just as he finished speaking the bell rang, signaling the end of this torturous session and I quickly grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. I next went to the front door of the classroom to wait for Virgil.   


As soon as most of the people had left the class Virgil came strolling up to me…with Daisy looming behind him.   


I decided to take the initiative. "Hey, nice performance you two… I _almost _didn't fall asleep!"   


"Very funny. Thanks." Virgil gave me his sarcastic smirk.   


Daisy smiled a real one. "Thanks, Richie."   


"Your welcome," I said, trying to sound convincing… and keep my teeth from grinding.   


Virgil hesitated. "So we'll see you at lunch, then?"   


Geez, if they wanted to be alone why didn't they just _tell_ me to get lost…?   


"Uh, lunch…yeah, 'course, sure thing," I nervously scratched the back of my head, suddenly feeling like the third wheel.   


"Cool. Okay, peace out then."   


"Yeah, peace," I flashed him the sign…   
  


And off they went.   


So they go to _one _concert together… it's no big deal... didn't mean they were going out or anything…   
  


I watched them as they walked off together down the crowded hallway, conversing and smiling at each other…   
  


He probably just wanted to talk to her about the concert or something, and maybe he felt bad about not being able to go with me.   


Or not.   


Okay. Whatever. It was _not_ a big deal.   


I scolded myself not to act so stupid.   


If he _really_ liked Daisy, he would have just told me, right?   


Right.   


I turned away and headed in the opposite direction towards the lockers. No reason in sweating over something I was probably just making up in my head.   


I pushed it aside; shoved it back in my mind and out of the way. There were other, more important things to think about anyways… Yikes, like that biology test I had next period…, which I had forgot to study for last night.   


I practically knocked a few kids over as I ran to my locker, in a desperate search for my biology textbook. Hey, even super geniuses need to study!

Well, tell me what ya'll think! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! Hope everyone enjoyed this, and I promise there is more to come!!! ^ - ~


	2. Lunch Date

Hey ya'll, it's Chapter 2! Please enjoy.

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Chapter 2: Lunch Date

The cafeteria was noisy… it was constantly noisy. 

There was always that grumbling drone going on in the background that made talking to the person next to you impossible; a guy could barely hear himself think in here. Then there were all the potentially irritating people that could come and intrude upon my thinking time. I mean, with me, it was always thinking time… but still, I hated being bothered in the middle of a great idea.

So that's why I never sat in the cafeteria,—Yeah, too noisy—we usually went to the courtyard just outside; they had smaller tables, and you could avoid the inconveniences of the overwhelming masses. We'd sit out there in the peaceful, relaxing environment in a place where we could discuss superhero stuff without eavesdroppers. Sometimes those were vital meeting points since we wouldn't get a chance to talk about it until after school.

Well, _we_ normally sat outside. 

I had already gotten my lunch and had been waiting at our designated spot for a while; it had probably been like, five whole minutes since I sat down and still no sign of Virgil… I couldn't help but feel ditched. 

Ah well, I should have expected it… the way those two were carrying on, I'd be surprised if he remembered that I exist, and that he's a superhero.

Then an idea struck me.

I could increase Backpack's computer memory capacity and capabilities exponentially by applying some of the principles gleaned from Odium's nanite research! By implementing the overall efficiency of the tiny robots into Backpack's design, I'd be able to add even more functions without increasing its overall mass… I'd probably even get it to be lighter—Yes! This was going to be totally awesome!—I could get Backpack to do even more stuff, maybe add a few weapons here and there… And then it'd be lighter, allowing Gear to be that much more graceful…

I produced my notepad and began furiously scribbling my ideas down; I've gotten into the habit of carrying one around ever since my powers manifested. I never knew when I'd get one of my brainstorms—or "Brain Monsoons" as Virgil put it—so I always have to be prepared or I'd loose the idea, quickly replaced by another.

It was at these moments that I completely lost contact with what was going on around me…Everything was just at flurry of numbers, formulae, and equations, and maybe a little diagram thrown in for illustration purposes. I wouldn't notice if someone called my name or if the bell rang, or if a nuclear explosion had just occurred and my flesh was now gone—Yep, I'd just be a pile of bones writing down my ideas—I ignored my lunch, growing cold in the metal tray before me. I certainly didn't notice the presence approaching the table and calling my name a couple times. Then a small, dainty hand appeared and snatched my notebook.

That did it. 

Confused, I quickly looked up and saw Frieda's smiling face peering down at me, holding the notebook over my head…the notebook with lots of juicy little superhero secrets in it…

"Hey, what the…gimme that!" I reached up, snatching it back possessively.

She giggled. "Well hello to you too. So… what's in the notebook?"

"Hey Frieda…," I closed the note pad and stuffed it into my backpack, "nothing you'd be interested in."

"Sure…whatever…" She sat down and placed her lunch tray on the table, opposite me.

"Uh…don't you usually sit with Daisy and the rest of your clique?"

"Richie, are you saying I'm an unwanted guest?"

I threw up my hands defensively. "No, no, no…'course not. Just wondering what brings you to our neck of the woods..."

"Well, you're right, I do normally sit with Daisy," she took a sip from her juice and sighed, "She said she was going to be sitting with Virgil, so I came here instead."

Great. Wonderful. Just Peachy. 

Although again, I should have guessed.

"So, yeah, where is Virgil?" she asked.

"Beats me. As you can see," I made a wide, exaggerated motion around me, "he's not here. Probably off with Daisy somewhere…"

"Ah, speak of the devil. Hey Virgil! Hey Daisy!"

I turned around and saw Virgil and Daisy coming from the direction of the cafeteria, both holding their lunch trays—Exciting. More company.—well, at least they weren't holding hands.

Frieda and I scooted over to make room as they sat down at the circular table. The arrangements allowed Virgil to sit next to me and Daisy, while she had the privilege of being next to him and Frieda.

"Hey Frieda, hey Richie, what's up?"

I looked at him with what I hoped was a serious expression. "What's up?! Where have you been? I've been waiting here for…" I pull down my sleeve to glance at my watch, "ten minutes! Did you know that it takes exactly 8 minutes for this goop the cafeteria serves to coagulate into a cool gelatinous substance? It completely loses appeal after that…" Crossing my arms with a huff, I peer over at Daisy. "Oh, hi Daisy," I said cheerfully, twiddling my fingers at her.

She smiled genuinely, "Hi Richie."

"Relax Rich; I just got my lunch with Daisy. If it makes you feel better, you can have _my_ goop…It hasn't coagulated yet."

"Thanks, you're too kind."

"You didn't have to wait for us…now your food's all cold," Daisy said, the concern in her voice chipping away at my sarcasm.

I pushed the tray away from me and leaned my arms on the table. "Don't worry about it. I just lost my appetite anyways."

They all gave me a strange look—a disbelieving stare even—their burning gazes causing me to sweat. "Wh-what? Hey, I'm not _always_ hungry…"

Virgil threw back his head in laughter. 

I narrowed my gaze at him. "And what's so funny about that, V?"

He wiped away moisture from his eye, "Are you sure we're talking about the same Richie Foley? Man, I actually considered getting a guard dog just to watch over my plate!"

Frieda and Daisy chuckled at this. What _was _he talking about? I did _not_ eat that much… Oh wait, V _did_ warn me about my future weight problem… damn fat gene!

I cracked a suave grin and straightened my glasses. "Hey, growing boys and all that…" I said, patting my stomach.

"Oh, Richie, that reminds me, you have Mrs. Flagg's class, right?"

Frieda's mind must have been as jumpy as mine... my potential obesity reminded her of physics?

"Um, yeah, but, I don't know what that has to do with-"

"Great! Do you think you could help me with those _awful_ formulas? I just don't have the mind to remember them all."

"Sure, I guess, but-" I found myself scratching the back of my head.

"Yay!" she squealed, "How does next Monday sound? You could come over to tutor me for next week's test!"

Did I have much choice?

"Sure thing."

"Oh Richie, you're a lifesaver!" Frieda reached over the table and softly grabbed my hand. 

Her hand was small, thin, and warm. 

I glanced down at them.

Now, it always made me uncomfortable and nervous whenever a girl touched me like that. It was innocent enough, but it always came off as manufactured with a particular purpose in mind. A purpose I was wholly not interested in pursuing, at least not with Frieda. Her hand seemed to stay there, waiting for me to respond to its presence. It was bordering on the verge of being frightening. Was she provoking me? Distracting me? Was it just me? I presently didn't feel that close to her for it to mean anything.—it seemed totally unnecessary—How long had I been staring? Oh geez, it felt like forever. Did her hand just die there?

"Um, uh, ha ha…" I eventually manage to spit out nervously, my trusty voice still cracking a bit, "Don't mention it." I patted her hand firmly, unsure if that would interpret anything.

"Thanks," she said, removing her hand as quickly as she had placed it.

Now Daisy spoke up, "Oh, Virgil, got any plans this weekend?"

No. 

No, no, no! 

What was with these girls? They were driving me insane! 

__

We _have plans_! 

At any moment, I was expecting my intelligence to increase so dramatically I would develop telepathic powers. 'Virgil! Remember, we had plans already!' I screamed in my head, praying it'd be loud enough for him to hear.

"Well, Richie and I were planning to go to Dakota Springs tomorrow…"

Yes! V always pulled through in the end!

"…but you guys are welcome to come if you like!"

No! 

…This called for drastic measures…

"But, uh…V….remember, we had that other…_thing_…we needed to do?" I raised my eyebrows, as if they would add to the urgency of what I was saying.

"Hmm? What other thing?"

"You know…_stuff_…we do…," still nothing, "…at night…," he looked even more confused, "…just in case something might…happen…"

His eyes squinted at me, before shooting open in realization. "Oh, yeah…_that_…stuff…"

He turned to the two girls and flashed them a toothy grin, "Um, would you excuse us a moment…" He grabbed me by the sleeve and pulled me aside, out of earshot. He looked slightly annoyed with his brows furrowed like that, and hands on his hips…

"I thought we were gonna take a break from that this weekend, Rich?"

"Well, yeah, but, what if something comes up? You never know when one of Ebon's gang or some new bang baby's gonna show up…" 'Or when two crazy girls want to ruin everything…'

"But we're going to Dakota Springs, just to have fun, what's the difference if they come along? Besides, you yourself told me I was working too hard on patrols…_You're_ the one saying I need to relax…that's what I'm trying to do!"

"Yeah, but listen V, you know it's harder when a metahuman starts terrorizing the place and we've got _them_ tagging along…"

"I guess we're just going to have to take that chance. Come on Rich," he places a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, "We never get to do anything with them… It'll be fun, and _nothing's_ gonna happen." He put on his best, most charming smile.

And I sighed.

I couldn't argue with him. 

No matter how hard I tried, he'd always win. It was because I always want to trust him and believe what he was saying. 

It was easier to just go with the flow like he did and face one day at a time; _he_ didn't see the dangers and possibilities… I guess it was my job to worry. 

I always dwell on the possible outcomes of _any_ given situation, a habitual action heightened by my powers. He'd go in headfirst into any crisis without thinking twice, and I'm the one left worrying if he'll be able to get out of it. 

Funny how _I _suggested he get into this business…

"Scout's honor."

It took only one of his pleading, sympathy-inducing looks and I caved. 

"Fine…"

He moved in closer to give me a pat on the back. "Great, you won't regret it, Rich," he said with all confidence, as if he was _so sure_...

I wondered why he wanted me to comply so much. Was it because he honestly wanted me to be a part of it, or did he just want me to shut up and sit down? Did he want to have his cake and eat it too?

I also wondered why I was thinking so negatively. Virgil and I are the closest of friends and I should trust him more. Sure, sometimes he makes mistakes—and displays a disappointing lack of consideration at times—but he doesn't mean to…it's not as if he does it maliciously anyways. The voice of reason (namely, me) always gets through to him in the end, so what was there to worry about? Maybe I just think too much, over-analyzed things too much.

So why not? Maybe it would be fun to just hang out, all of us. 

We returned to the table and sat back down. I stared longingly at the rejected food, suddenly realizing how hungry I was.

"You guys sure do that a lot…" Daisy stated bluntly.

"Well," I said, quickly stuffing my mouth with the various unidentifiable matter on my tray, "we just don't want to bore you with the details." I wonder if that was as unintelligible as it sounded to me.

"Yeah, you know, guy stuff… like when you two run off to the bathroom," Virgil said.

Frieda and Daisy looked at each other and laugh. "I doubt it's _anything _like that…," Frieda said.

I scoffed amidst what tasted like corn bread, "You don't know the half of it…"

I grabbed my juice and took a long draught, washing it all down.

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So what'd you all think? Please Review, all of your comments are always appreciated. And just for the record, this will eventually deal with issues with Richie's questionable sexuality, but I urge you to read it anyway, because it's not exactly slash. It's just what I see from the show and a little nod to the comics. Also, I'd like to thank the wonderfully talented and charming Isabelle, a.k.a Destiny's Creator, for being my Beta Goddess, and for her enlightening wisdom and caring friendship! ^ - ~


	3. On The Inside

Whew! Well here goes chapter 3!!! Please, enjoy, and review, as always.

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Chapter 3: "On the Inside"

Fridays were a godsend… The best day of the week for a number of reasons:

First off, Friday signaled the end of the workweek, the end of the schoolwork, and the beginning of the weekend… a long length of time in which to procrastinate and focus on fun!

Well, that's what it meant to most _normal_ teenagers. V and I though had the added responsibility of being Dakota's resident superheroes, protecting the city from the 'meta-human menace.' 

Weekends were reserved for prime crime-fighting time. 

We had been working so hard lately, however, that we decided we'd try to take it easy this weekend.

Okay, actually more like I suggested and made Virgil go along with it.

But we had already put away most of the _really_ dangerous, _really_ busy bang babies! Honestly, without class, they have _way_ too much downtime… So this weekend was like the perfect opportunity to just relax and hang out, without the ominous dread of something coming up. So we planned the trip to Dakota Springs and I was going to sleep over for the weekend, naturally.

And that brings up the other reason Fridays were the best. 

I was at Virgil's house pretty much every day anyways and on Fridays I regularly spent the night. It was my chance not only to get away from the drudgery that home sometimes can be, but also to just hang out. 

It was like sacred time reserved for just the two of us. 

I mean, we worked together as Static and Gear normally; however the superhero gig, as exciting and adventurous as it may be, also had its dangers and was really stressful. I always tried to make the most of those situations… but it was definitely _not_ the same as just being able to hang out with my best bud, vegetating in front of the T.V., and shooting the breeze about the latest comic book releases. 

You just couldn't trade such simplicity for anything else.

We sat in Virgil's living room, sprawled luxuriously on the couch. V was flipping through the channels, apparently not looking for anything in particular since he barely paused long enough to see what was on. The feeling of boredom slowly began to pervade the atmosphere. It was as if the quiet heaviness that we mutually felt was beginning to sit on us.

V finally landed on something…a cartoon.

"Oh, hey, it's that Thunder Guy cartoon," he settled in and dropped the remote between us.

"Thunder Guy? That show is totally lame V…"

His head spun in my direction, dreads flailing about in the quick motion. "Are you trippin'? That was my favorite show—"

"…when you were ten," I finish for him. "Come on, Virg, haven't your tastes matured since then?" I shot him a devilish grin as I dodge the pillow thrown at me.

"You should talk, Mr. Ninja Space Cats!"

My smile fades and I rolled my eyes. "I'll let that slide, since you obviously have a bias towards guys that have your same electromagnetic charm."

"And you have a bias for stupid, cheesy cat cartoons."

I looked at him in mocking disbelief. "Hey, the Ninja Space Cats were a thousand times better than Thunder Guy. There were four of them and only one of him. See? Quadruple the fun."

"Quadruple the stupidity," he said; his own devious grin spreading across his face.

I knew where this was going.

"I bet," I said, clutching at the pillow he threw at me, "that if Thunder Guy took on the Ninja Space Cats, he'd get his butt royally whooped." I saw Virgil opening his mouth for more... "And…_and_ I bet he couldn't even take on Master Monkey, either."

"He'd take on the Space Cats, Master Monkey, and have room left over to kick Boogie Devil's butt too. And what?" Virgil made a wide gesture with his arms and cocked his head arrogantly.

I cup my hand over my mouth in mock surprise, "Oh them sounds like fightin' words!"

"Take it or leave it."

"Enguarde."

After a brief moment of staring, our pillows met in a furious instant. 

We attempted to whack each other with the pillows, dodging and ducking while trying to get in cheap shots from underneath or overhead. I backed away off the couch and made a swipe with mine, which he dodged by rolling backwards off the couch. I ran around the back of the sofa and tried to pound him with one, heavy blow. He rolled to the left just as my finishing strike missed him, retaliating with his own attack, hitting my head with his own weapon.

"Ow!"

I fell over to land on my butt next to the sofa.

"Oops," Virgil managed amid laughter, "sorry, did I get your eye or something?" He sat up and reached over to me, while I covered my face with the pillow.

"Sucker…"

I laughed hysterically as I shoved the pillow into his face. He got pushed into the wall, which made a heavy thud noise. He struggled against me, but his laughter was preventing him from getting anywhere. I had him pinned to the floor as he pretty much gave up, laughing uncontrollably. I couldn't help myself, either; I laughed even harder and fell over next to him, clutching my aching sides.

"Hey! What's with you two? You wanna break something?"

We both attempted to stifle our laughter as we looked up from our positions on the floor. I saw the upside-down image of Sharon glaring down at us.

"Huh? Ok, sure. How about your head?" Virgil said, teary-eyed. We then broke into hysterics once again, rolling on the floor as if we had ulcers.

"You're lucky daddy ain't home. Stop playing around, you're gonna make a mess. Virgil!"

He sat up, panting heavily. "What?" he whined.

"I'm trying to make dinner. I don't need your lazy rump distracting me around here. If you wanna make a mess or whatever it is you're doing, do it in your own room…" She trudged off back to the kitchen, muttering about how irresponsible and childish we were.

Virgil hefted himself up and lent me a hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet. "Come on, Rich. Let's just go to my room."

"Sure." I looked over to the kitchen. "Hey, you just be sure to call us when it's ready…"

"I ain't yer momma. You come down when you feel like it."

I looked back at V and laughed, rolling my eyes. "I'm sure glad she _isn't_ my momma…" I whispered to him.

We both snickered.

Then we made a mad dash for the stairs.

Upon entering V's room, I promptly collapsed on his bed and kicked off my shoes. Then I sat up, holding myself up on my elbows. He came over and slumped beside me.

I looked up at him. He seemed rather tired now, and to my worry, a little devoid of mirth. 

"So, uh, what do you wanna do?"

He looked down at me with a half-grin. "I don't know, what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm, I don't know…maybe a little…"

"Zombie Warriors!" we said in unison.

We scurried over to his makeshift entertainment center next to his bed. Basically, it was just his T. V. on top of his bookshelf, and the Gamestation on a shelf underneath. V turned it on and popped in the disc, and we each grabbed a controller.

"I got dibs on the wizard."

He scoffed. He scoffed! "Go ahead, you can have him. I'll take the fighter." The wizard was awesome…

"Hey, the wizard is like, the most powerful character in the game."

"Yeah, but I hate using magic," the game started up and we selected our designated characters, "I just want to kill some zombies!"

I scoffed back. "Leave it to you to kill strategy. Basher."

"Don't come cryin' to me when you're trapped in a corner and you're out of MP…"

"Ha! Do you think I'm an amateur? I'll have the area clear of zombies before you even get a chance to smack one of 'em with your club."

"We'll see about that."

We started in the first area and began hacking and slashing our way through the hordes of zombies. We good-naturedly tried to show each other up, showing off our moves and abilities on the relatively easy zombies. We'd even watch in awe as the other would mess around with the walking corpses, making fun of their ridiculous AI.

"Watch this, V…"

My wizard slowly approached a zombie heading towards Virgil's character. It went after him, but I was able to sneak up behind him while it was fixated on Virgil's unmoving fighter. "Boom!" I yelled as a fire spell instantly left the wizard's hands, and the zombie's head burst into flames. It toppled over and was consumed by fire. It's charred corpse then disappeared after a few seconds.

We were laughing once again. We continued on, and then the zombies got harder. Then we really had to kick it into overdrive and coordinate our teamwork.

"Hey, use an ice spell on 'em. It'll freeze them long enough so I can club 'em."

"Shoot! I'm almost outta MP. You got any magic potions?"

"There. I dropped one on the floor. Be careful; those zombies are attracted to items."

"Ok. Got it. Alrighty, one ice spell, coming up!"

"Uh-oh, there's more coming from that cave over there…"

"Here, I'll cast a protection circle. You deal with the frozen ones there."

"Damn! They got a lot of life points…"

"Grrr…this protection circle only works on the undead. Those flying things up there will still get through…"

"Hey, they're breaking free!"

"Aw, crud."

"I'll use a bomb."

"Hey, not so close, it'll hurt us too!"

"Yeah, but we gotta thin them out. There's too many of 'em!"

"Too many of 'em? Well you know there's only one thing left to do, then…"

"Uh-oh…"

"Whoo-hoo! Go, fire spell!"

"Well I might as well go berserk, too."

We barreled on through, Virgil crashing through the zombie horde with his vicious club attack, and I running around shooting my fire spell at the zombies from afar. All the while we shouted at the zombies in our way, pulverizing and eliminating them from the screen. There was constant zombie moaning while we went on our zombie cleansing rampage.

After a couple hours, the world was now safe from, well…what else? Zombies, of course.

I turned to Virgil while the credits rolled on the screen, "You want to go for another round?"

He stared past the screen despondently. "No, that's ok." He sighed and abandoned the controller, then began pacing around the room.

I silently turned off the Gamestation and stood up. "V, what's the matter?"

He restlessly groaned in response. Then, "You know, Rich. It's already dark out…"

"V, could you just relax? Take a load off. Hey," I stepped up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, stopping him from pacing. That always made me nervous. "You promised me!" I pointed an accusatory finger at him, lightly poking him in the chest with it.

"I know, but…it's just that…there could be crimes out there happening right now! We should be out there patrolling."

"We need time for a life at least once in a while, V."

"But people could be in trouble!"

"I know, I know…" What was I supposed to say? I mean, that's why we became superheroes. To help protect Dakota from metahumans and from crime. Still, weren't we entitled to some time to ourselves? It wasn't the first time we just decided to stay home. He was starting to make me feel slightly guilty about just staying there trying to have fun while the city might have needed Static and Gear, but at the same time, I really wanted to just hang out with him. We were still young; we still wanted to do things that teenagers wanted to do. 

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll have Backpack's sensors on high alert. I'll have him detect any familiar metahuman patterns, any strange anomalies, anything. We'll be the first to know if anything goes down," I reassured him.

"You can do that?"

"Sure, I do it all the time. Well, maybe not so extensively, but Backpack has all the necessary sensors. It should turn out fine…"

"I guess. Sounds good to me," he stroked his chin pensively, "Well, since you have it covered, why don't we go downstairs and rustle up some grub?"

"Sharon's cooking?" He nodded. "Ah, who am I kidding? My hunger doesn't discriminate. Sure let's go!"

About an hour later we were back at Virgil's room, stuffed and satiated. Virgil stretched himself out on his bed, while I lay on the floor, my arms folded behind my head.

"Those mashed potatoes weren't half bad. Though I don't know why she served them _after_ the main course…"

Virgil peeped at me from his bed. "Mashed potatoes? Where did you eat dinner? That was some kinda whack pudding she tried to make."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Pudding? Are you serious, man?"

"Yep. I saw the package earlier when I went to the kitchen. No wonder you scarffed it down so fast."

"I was wondering why it was in a separate bowl."

"Nothing gets past you, huh, genius?"

"Shaddup."

He snickered. Then he grew quiet again. Ok, now I knew there was something bothering him for sure.

After a few moments of silence, I spoke.

"Yo, what's up, V?"

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing…"

I got up, lifting myself up into a sitting position and fixing my scrutiny on him. "You can't fool me, Virge. Come on, there is definitely something up with you."

He gave me a half-hearted grin. "Just thinking about crime fighting…" he said, feigning cheerfulness.

"V…" I said in a commanding tone.

"Ah, Richie, come on…can't we just put on a movie or something?"

"V…" I said again, adding a little melodic intonation to my voice.

He sighed. He crossed his arms and leaned back into his pillow. I could tell he was making me drag it out of him. Whenever it came to these, sticky subjects, he sort of tried to avoid it. He preferred to make me pull it out rather than it come from his own initiative. He was always like that; sinking into his own world whenever a heavy topic was affecting it. He would eventually open up; it would just take a little time, is all.

I stood up and went over to the bed, sitting down opposite from him. I leaned forward and said in a more serious tone, "Hey, Virgil, come on, seriously. I'm your best friend, I'd like to think you'd be able to tell me anything."

"I know, Richie. It's just that…" he left his mouth agape, as if he wanted to say something more. He then closed it in consternation.

"You see," he continued, "the thing is…well…I don't know…um…have you ever felt…torn, Rich?"

I raised an eyebrow instinctively. "Torn? What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure…it's hard to explain…I just feel like…I'm being pulled in different directions…like…there's so many things that are tugging at me…like all these different things that want a piece of me…you know?"

I wasn't precisely sure what he was talking about, but I think I had a good idea.

"Well, that's normal, V. I mean, we don't exactly lead the lives of normal teenagers…we have so many more responsibilities, more than other adults, even. I get stressed out sometimes, too. That's why I suggested we take this much needed break."

"Yeah, I understand that…but…this feels like something more. I'm not…not exactly sure, I can't really say…for certain…but it just feels like, I _mean_ something to different people, and I'm not sure what role I'm supposed to play. I think…"

"Maybe you know, you just haven't really confronted it head on yet. It's something that maybe you're not willing to look at. Maybe," I settled in, starting to get a good handle on the situation, "maybe it's like one of those things on those talk shows my mom watches. You know, like this one time the guy was talking about how some things are just too much for someone to really face down and deal with. Like you don't want to look at what is really causing the problem. Sort of like repressing it, I guess," Virgil looked at me with a worried, somewhat confused _expression. Even I was a little confused myself.

I smiled at him and added, "Hey…this isn't the latest bang baby come to threaten Dakota. This isn't something Static can solve…this is a Virgil problem, and Virgil's the one who's gonna have to deal with it. Give it some time, I'm sure it'll come to you, and you'll figure it out."

Virgil looked thoughtful. After a brief moment of staring at his sheets, he looked up and smiled. "Yeah…you're right. I wish there was an easier solution. Or at least a more obvious one. But I guess I'm just gonna have to face this myself. No super power's gonna help me on this one…"

"But you know what, you still got me. I'm still your best bud, right bro? If you need anything, anything whatsoever, I'll be there for you, man. Don't even hesitate to ask." A clumsy smile appeared on me. I couldn't hold a serious _expression for too long. It made me feel a little nervous, and strangely self-conscious.

"Thanks man…I really appreciate it…" He reached over and our fists met in our usual way.

We didn't say much immediately after that. There was a silence, and at first I didn't notice it. I kind of stared at Virgil during it. I wasn't sure what to tell him. I shook my head.

"Oh, hey, I brought a DVD. It's the _Evil Swamp Creature from Planet X_. Want to watch? It's a classic…"

"Sure. You know I can't get enough of that sci-fi horror goodness."

I got the movie out of my backpack (the non-metallic one) and popped it into his DVD player. I pushed his "entertainment center" over and settled in on his bed to watch, while he went downstairs for some popcorn and munchies. He came back with an armful of various junk food.

I grinned with excitement. "Yes! You did good, V."

He laughed. "Yeah, I made sure to get all your favorites. Put the movie on, I'm ready for some Swamp Creature butt kicking time!"

He hopped onto the bed giddily. I pressed the play button, and immediately commenced pigging out.

The movie was good, lots of cheesy special effects, melodramatic acting, and of course sci-fi techno gibberish. However, my mind was restless. It drifted slowly as the movie played.

I kept thinking about what Virgil said; It really made me think. I wondered what he meant by being pulled in different directions. It must have been everything that was happening in his life: being a superhero, school, his dad's expectations, his own expectations, his sister's rivalry, trying to have a social life, trying to be normal…and then…I hated to admit it, but then there was Daisy. 

I wasn't sure what that was all about. I realized I was afraid to know. That uneasiness came again. That nagging feeling that pulled at me from the back of my mind. It was there again. I couldn't help thinking about it as I stuffed my face with popcorn and cheesy puffs and watched as the swamp creature consumed another victim.

I couldn't describe where it came from or why I suddenly felt it each time I thought about the prospect of him and Daisy being together. It could only be aptly described as being "weird". The perfect word for the things you couldn't understand. 

I also felt like something was being held back, like I didn't want to entirely see what was nagging me about the whole situation myself. I guess I just felt…Virgil and I were best friends, and I didn't want to have to give up what we had.

We were a team, and not just a superhero team. We were very close; we were closer to each other than anyone else in our lives. We understood each other in a way that only we could understand. Like we could anticipate each other's thoughts and feelings. It came in real handy when fighting a metahuman to know exactly what your partner's planning, and to be completely in synch with them, like some kind of superhero choreography. Well, maybe that's a strange analogy, but still, Virgil and I knew each other like the back of our hands.

Not to mention we knew each other's biggest secrets. 

We had gone through so much together, I didn't even want to think about something coming between us. If he really ended up with Daisy…where would that leave me?

Then I realized I didn't have any answer… not for myself, and not for Virgil. As hard as we worked together to resolve things for other people, take care of _their_ problems, this was going to be much harder to solve than anything we'd come across yet.

I felt a sudden, sharp nudge to my arm. "Hey Rich, look, the best part…here's where they zap him with the gamma ray!"

I was derailed from my train of thought, then fixated on the sight of the gnarling swamp creature being zapped by the cheap-looking, cartoony ray. Virgil and I laughed hysterically. Our laughter heightened when the dramatic death scene came on next. The monster's drooping, dying face was priceless. The movie ended and the credits rolled, and we were doubled over in gleeful pain. 

I leaned over on Virgil for support, and lifted myself up. I removed my glasses and wiped the tears away. "Ha, ha…did you see the look on Swampy's face?"

"Yeah…kinda looked like Hot Streak after a good dousing…"

We both grew quiet, trying to conjure up the image. Then we burst into more laughter. We collapsed over onto each other's shoulders, crying as if we had lamented the creature's death.

And that's how it went. After a good bout of joking and more laughing, we were worn out.

"ah…it's getting late. We gotta get up in the morning."

"Yeah, we should probably get ready for bed…"

"We'll be needing our sleep…"

"…Although…" I turned to face Virgil.

He turned his head and we made eye contact, "…the world might be needing a little help with that zombie problem…again…"

"Well then, how about another round of zombie dispatching, Virgil, my good sir?"

"Why, I'd be delighted, Richard, my good man…"

Moments later we were in sleeping attire, and ready for our next foray into the adventurous world of zombie bashing.   


We lay on the outstretched comforter and blankets we had put on the floor, both of our weary gazes transfixed on the screen, now the only source of light. Our hands could be heard mechanically fiddling on the controllers. I stared at the screen almost hypnotically, watching as I executed the umpteenth zombie. The corpse fell to the floor with a moan, and my eyelids slowly followed it. I ceased my functions on the controller and it fell from my hand.

"Ugh…" I groaned, "I'm totally beat, bro."

He yawned. "Yeah, me too."

I pulled the blanket over me and turned over to face him. Then I removed my glasses and gave them to Virgil. "Hey, put these up there when you turn off the Gamestation, will ya? Thanks…"

He grabbed them delicately and looked at me with a tired version of annoyance, which was rather amusing to me. I would have laughed if I had the energy to. "Sure…" he said flatly. Without getting up, a small crackling burst of electromagnetic energy filled his hand, illuminating the room with a blue light. My glasses were carefully placed on the shelf by the electrical stream. Virgil then shifted it and enveloped the Gamestation in the energy. Then it shut off. The energy then fizzled out and disappeared, casting the room in utter darkness.

I closed my eyes and snuggled in. "You're gonna bust it one day doing that," I said sleepily.

Virgil settled in and I heard the ruffling of his blankets wrapping around him. "Good night, Rich…"

A stray thought caught me off guard.

"Oh, hey…so what's going down tomorrow?"

"Hmm…oh…well Daisy and Frieda will be meeting us here tomorrow morning. Then we're all going to Dakota Springs together."

"Oh." I bury my hands beneath my pillow. Tomorrow was going to be…interesting. I couldn't help feeling that I was going to expect a lot of uneasy, and possibly awkward moments. I wasn't looking forward to seeing Daisy's bold advances, her pulling Virgil away from the more thrilling rides, and not to mention just overall fun-spoiler.

I hoped at least nothing would go wrong.

Another stray thought invaded my mind again. That annoying, nagging feeling just wouldn't quit.

I suddenly found myself thinking about what _I_ told Virgil. Was that nagging feeling of mine just like Virgil's, something _I_ was not willing to regard? Something _I_ was not willing to acknowledge? The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to know. And the more right I seemed to prove myself…

Oh well. Thoughts for another day, another time. Back to the mental filing cabinet you go…

At the moment, I was feeling rather comfortable and I sought to keep it that way. I thought no more about those worries and drifted off to sleep.

Well, what'd ya'll think? Please realize that this may undergo a revision, so check back when I update, but it'll most likely be the revision of this rather than a chapter 4…hahaha…well stay tuned for chapter 4, coming soon! ^ - ^!


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